Times chart
The chart displays NECAP results for area high schools, including percentage of students in each proficiency level. Level 4 is proficient with distinction; level 3 is proficient; level 2 is partially proficient; level 1 is substantially below proficient. Percentages may not total 100 since each percentage is rounded to the nearest whole number. Results are from the testing year, where the student was administered the test in the fall. Alternative, though similar percentages are available for teaching year results, where the students received instruction during the school year prior to the fall test administration (same students, previous school year). See the NH Department of Education for teaching year results.

CONCORD — The New Hampshire Department of Education recently released the latest round of New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test results for reading, math and writing. The results printed here represent tests taken by 11th graders in the fall of 2012.

By very small percentages, Dover, Farmington, Nute, Somersworth and Spaulding high schools each scored below the state mean in reading, math and writing. Oyster River High School scored above the state mean in the three testing areas, once again, by a very small percentage. Science tests are administered in the spring.

“We didn’t make as much progress as we’d like,” Rochester Superintendent Mike Hopkins said, noting that the district remains a little behind the state average each year. “We’re continuing to focus on what we’ve been focused on before: No Child Left Behind and a 90 percent reading goal.”

According to Hopkins, NECAP results are useful when comparing how the district’s students are doing versus other students in the state on that one particular test.

“You can’t be guaranteed you can compare last year’s (results) to this year’s,” Hopkins said about the NECAPs.

He added that the state is beginning to transition away from NECAP tests and into the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which is based on the Common Core Curriculum. It is a test administered by a nationwide group that most states, according to Hopkins, are adopting. The adoption of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has some improved standards and will improve consistency across the country, he said. Administered predominantly through computers, the new system will offer instant feedback, which Hopkins notes is important and isn’t possible through the mainly paper-driven NECAPs.

Hopkins also commented on the different subgroups included in NECAP results, of which Rochester has a relatively high proportion, including special education and free and reduced lunch students.

“We would like to see our special education students do better, but we have to take students where they are in their progress,” he said.

Keith Burke is a consultant to the NHDOE for assessment and accountability.

“If people really want to know how well a school is doing, I would say it is fine to look at the NECAP scores, but a far better picture may be gained by talking with the school administrators, teachers and students,” he said. “Find out what is important to them and how well are they doing in relation to those important factors.”

New Hampshire Department of Education Commissioner Virginia Barry offered the reminder that while the NECAP is an important measure of academic progress, it is only one of many ways that schools measure the progress of their students. In evaluating the success of students and schools, it is essential that parents, educators, and community leaders consider multiple forms of assessment, such as: community involvement, attendance, graduation rates, numbers of students pursuing further education after high school, school safety issues, discipline records, and other relevant information.

There are four achievement levels of student performance on the NECAP tests. These levels describe a student’s proficiency on the content and skills taught in the previous grade. Performance at Proficient (level 3) or Proficient with Distinction (level 4) indicates that the student has a level of proficiency necessary to begin working successfully on current grade content and skills. Performance at Partially Proficient (level 2) or Substantially Below Proficient (level 1) suggests that additional instruction and student practice is needed on the previous grade’s content and skills.

NECAP is a collaborative partnership among New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maine established in response to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires that all states annually measure achievement of students in grades three through eight, and in one high school grade.

Full NECAP results, including elementary schools, are available on the Department of Education website: www.education.nh.gov.